Debate Or Not To Debate: Hun Sen Is Ducking For Cover?

Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

"The debate should take place, with or without Mr. Hun Sen. The democratisation process in Cambodia must be moving forward. No one, not even a prime minister of a country, can hinder this process."

Mr Kem Sokha’s proposal for a face to face televised debate among the prime ministerial candidates is a good thing for the democratisation process in Cambodia (read the links by clicking here and here). It will give an opportunity to the voters to see real democracy at work, first hand. It will also provide the candidates, including Prime Minister Hun Sen himself, an opportunity to experience a real taste of democracy. But most importantly, it will give Prime Minister Hun Sen an opportunity to set the record straight- and that is to face his critics and tackle them head on.

But, regrettably, Prime Minister Hun Sen has chosen to reject the proposal flat out. The Prime Minister’s rejection is a real blow to the democratisation process in Cambodia. A face to face debate is a chance for the candidates to put forward their ideas and political platforms to the voters but it was sensitive enough to send shivers through Prime Minister Hun Sen’s spine. For a man who used to debate with himself and who used to blast his critics for hours and hours non-stop on national TV, the ideas of a face to face debate has caused shivers that sent him scrambling and ducking for cover.

Prime Minister Hun Sen used his busy time schedule as a pretext of his refusal to participate in such a debate. He said that he is too busy trying to solve people’s everyday problems. Well, Mr. Prime Minister, an election debate is another form of efforts to hatch out ideas to find the solutions to the many national problems facing Cambodia today. If you are serious enough in seeking ideas and solutions to today Cambodia’s problems, this is the way to go.

Another pretext which Prime Minister Hun Sen used a justify his rejection of the proposal was that Cambodia has a proportional parliamentary system which the voters vote for the parties and not for the candidates, unlike the presidential elections in the United States and France whereby the people vote for the presidential candidates. Mr. Hun Sen’s reason is unreasonable. In countries like Australia, Canada and the UK which have a parliamentary system whereby the voters vote for the parties like Cambodia and, at every election, they always hold a televised debates among the prime ministerial candidates. So Mr. Hun Sen’s reason is absurd and preposterous.

Mr Hun Sen’s pre-emptive speech rejecting Kem Sokha’s proposal was not only a proof of his cowardice, but it was intended to intimidate, to interfere and to influence the decisions-making of an independent institution, the National Election Committee (NEC).

The NEC, as an independent national institution, should not be deterred by Hun Sen‘s speech. It should make its own decisions independently of any political influence, not even from a prime minister of a country. The debate should take place, with or without Mr. Hun Sen. The democratisation process in Cambodia must be moving forward. No one, not even a prime minister of a country, can hinder this process.

The NEC complies with Hun Sen’s wish: No debate for PM candidates ... because this is not an election to select a prime minister -sic!-

The NEC rejects holding a debate for PM candidates

Wednesday, March 11, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

On Tuesday, the National Election Committee (NEC) officially rejected the request made by Kem Sokha, HRP president, to hold a face to face question and debate between all the PM candidates from the various political parties during the campaign for the upcoming July 2008 election. The Mekong Times reported that Im Suosdey, NEC president, said that the reason there would be no political debate because this is an election to select MPs based on a proportional system, and that this is not an election to select a prime minister. Furthermore, during the election campaign, the NEC will organize an equal-time program where each political party can send in their PM candidates to participate and provide their opinions during this program. Kem Sokha accused the NEC of not being independent and that it is under the order of the CPP. Kem Sokha said that if Hun Sen or the ruling party does not want something, the NEC will follow suit. Last week, Hun Sen declared that this debate is not necessary for him because he has a clear political program already.

Election debate: Hun Sen gets "cold feet"?

Kem Sokha (L) and Hun Sen (R)

Hun Sen Refused to Participate in the Debate

8th March 2008
By Pov Ponlok Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer to English by Khmerization

Mr. Hun Sen, a prime ministerial candidate for the Cambodian People’s Party who is also the current Prime Minister of Cambodia, has rejected on Saturday the 8th that he will not be participating in a face to face debate with other prime ministerial candidates in the upcoming 2008 election.

The prime minister’s rejection was made after Mr. Kem Sokha, president of the Human Right Party, wrote a letter dated 7th March requesting the chairman of the National Election Committee (NEC) to organise a debate forum among all the prime ministerial candidates during the upcoming parliamentary and prime ministerial election in July 2008.

The prime minister said: “This morning there is a newspaper article which reported that Mr. Kem Sokha, the president of the Human Right Party, had requested for all prime ministerial candidates to participate in a televised face to face debate. When I read the newspaper article I thought to myself that: in the United States there are always presidential debates because the elections in the United States are not elections to elect the party but they are presidential elections to elect the presidents. In France is the same. The elections are presidential elections to elect the presidents. In Cambodia the electoral system is a proportional system whereby the voters vote for the party and that winning party elects its prime minister. But he had requested for the debate forum among all the prime ministerial candidates. I wish to declare that I do not need to participate in such a debate but my programs, like the people have seen, are trying to solve the problems facing the people.”

In response to the prime minister’s rejection Mr. Kem Sokha said that the prime minister has no political will to improve and to push for a more democratic election process. He appealed to the prime minister to reconsider his position regarding his participation in the debate with other prime ministerial candidates.

Mr Kem Sokha said: “I respect his decision but it will show to the people whether he wants to improve the democratic process or not? I am of the opinion that if he wants the election to be transparent with equality among all political parties he must support this proposal.”

The prime minister stressed that he is not afraid of the face to face debates and he was proud to say that he used to participate in the face to face negotiations with the Tripartite Coalition Government which included the former king Sihanouk, Mr. Son Sann and Mr. Khieu Samphan in the efforts to bring peace to Cambodia in the early 1990s.

Mr Kem Sokha had also appealed to the National Election Committee to make its own decision regarding his party’s proposal independently without being influenced by the prime minister’s statement of rejection.”